CC(3) DA65
Communities and Culture Committee
Scrutiny Inquiry : Domestic Abuse
Response from YWCA England & Wales
YWCA is the leading charity working with the most disadvantaged young women in England and Wales. Young women face unique problems in today’s society. They are largely unheard and lack influence. We want a future where they can overcome prejudice and take charge of their own lives. We run services to support them and campaign with them to combat the discrimination they face.
In Wales we work in areas of need including in Neath and Port Talbot, areas of Swansea and Carmarthenshire. In particular we work with young mothers, young women not in education, employment or training (NEET) and Gypsy and Traveller young women. We seek to ensure that young women have the opportunities to meet the challenges of poverty, gender stereotyping and financial disincentives, to gain skills and training to get off the bottom rung of the careers ladder. We work with young women in Wales to make sure they have a voice both locally and with the Welsh Assembly Government. We are wholeheartedly committed to achieving a just Wales for young women where everyone has the chance to succeed.
The YWCA has appointed a Welsh Policy Officer to support the development and delivery of YWCA’s policy in Wales.
Summary
YWCA welcomes the inclusion of 16 - 18 year olds in the strategy for tackling domestic abuse. We are concerned about teenage victims of domestic violence.
We have identified specific groups of young women who require more targeted support services (young women with learning disabilities, young women leaving care, ethnic minority women including gypsy and traveller women).
YWCA would like to see more investment in education and support for girls so they learn to identify and challenge abusive behaviour.
We would like to see more use of voluntary sector initiatives such as YWCA’s money skills courses and increased support for young women to gain skills and education to break the cycle of poverty.
There should be more safe women-only places for young women to go and seek help and support.
YWCA response
Availability and accessibility of support for different groups
YWCA welcomes the inclusion of young people aged 16 - 18 within the remit of the Assembly’s strategy for tackling domestic abuse. YWCA believes that there is little research on teenage victims and not enough support for under-18s who are in abusive relationships. Young women often do not know their rights and are unlikely to have the confidence to stand up against violence and abuse.
Research in 2006 with young women in London, including those attending a YWCA centre, indicated that 42 per cent of adolescents had experienced some form of abusive behaviour from a partner and 39 per cent report behaviour that can be classified as abusive (Schutt, N (2006). Domestic violence in adolescent relationships with young people in Southwark and their experiences with unhealthy relationships).
We are concerned about young women with learning disabilities who are not always aware of physical boundaries. They are at particular risk because abusers take advantage of their vulnerabilities. Some families do not see that their child has become an adolescent and so do not educate them about the adult world. Many young women do not have the language or comprehension to be able to express what is happening to them. We have done some work with young women with learning disabilities in which they explore relationships, including risks, appropriate touch and saying 'no’ and we have developed a good practice toolkit for staff who work with young women.
We believe there is still a long way to go before ethnic minority women receive appropriate, accessible support, but recognise the work being done by third sector organisations in supporting ethnic minority women who are the victims of domestic abuse. It appears these services are under-resourced with long waiting lists for services such as counselling.
Gypsy and traveller women need specific refuge and support services because they come from a different culture. It can be difficult for them to ask for support as they may fear racism from support services. The issue of abusive relationships is often taboo in their communities. If a women leaves her husband she may have to leave her whole community, culture and way of life.
We also highlight the needs of young looked after girls in foster care. Again, these young women may be targeted by abusers because of their vulnerability and they often lack the necessary parental guidance to help them manage risks in relationships. We believe there should be more research into their needs and targeted support services.
The response of different sectors to domestic abuse, including criminal justice, health and social care agencies.
YWCA is aware of occasions when young girls have missed out on school due to domestic abuse of one parent by another.
Case study - skipping school to protect her mother
Kate* was very distressed by the domestic abuse suffered by her mother from her father. He eventually left the home but had returned occasionally and hurt Kate’s mother during the day whilst she was at school. Kate started to miss school so that she could be at home with her mother to protect her. The school thought she was a truant.
*names have been changed
The warning signs are not always obvious and the trigger points for support are sometimes missed. In the example given, not only was the young girl at risk, but her education was suffering and her opportunities to have a different life were being diminished. We believe that all agencies should have raised awareness of the indicators of domestic abuse and be aware of the appropriate interventions to help prevent an escalation to crisis point.
Information leaflets should be available, in a range of languages, to parents, in doctors’ surgeries, community centres and other areas and to health and social care staff demonstrating what to look for.
Such agencies should link into education so young people are informed about risky relationships and able to make informed decisions to protect themselves.
How the national strategy is delivered at a local level and the ways in which different bodies and agencies work with other to ensure the best response.
We believe that delivery of the national strategy must take into account the effects of poverty, financial abuse and alcohol abuse and how these, and other issues, link to domestic abuse. The most effective services are those which take a holistic approach.
Evaluation of the delivery of the Strategy should take into account the effectiveness of each Community Safety Partnership’s steer of joint working.
Poverty and financial abuse
Women are more likely than men to be economically dependent on a partner, because of their greater responsibility for unpaid care work within the home. In some cases this can lead to a lack of control over finances and in extreme situations leads to financial abuse, for example a woman’s partner withholding money from her. In our research Shock to the System: real life for young women in Wales
, almost a third of the 63 responses from young women showed evidence of being subject to financial abuse, but two thirds of them did not recognise that this was happening.
Girls and women are often the victims of someone who has been drinking. Alcohol often causes conflict to escalate into violence.
We think there should be more investment in education and support for girls so they learn to identify and challenge abusive behaviour and they find out how alcohol affects situations and relationships.
We would like to see more education and advice for young women who are managing on a low budget and help raise their awareness of financial abuse and how to challenge it. More importantly, we would like to see young, disadvantaged women gaining skills and education to break the cycle of poverty. YWCA’s campaign More than One Rung
focuses on helping young women move from the bottom run of the careers ladder.
We believe that the PSE curriculum should contain more information about violence and abuse in relationships, and what makes a good relationship, for both girls and boys and should draw on the expertise of voluntary organisations. There should be provision for young people who are outside mainstream education
We would also like to see more awareness raising courses available in sixth form colleges, further education colleges and universities.
We believe these types of preventative activities require a long-term approach and long-term funding, rather than short-term, project funding.
The impact of isolation exacerbated by geographical, cultural and individual factors.
Please see earlier comments about ethnic minority women and Gypsy and traveller women. If women are not financially independent they may not be able to afford transport. In some families, including many Gipsy and traveller families, women may not be able to travel independently. This restricts women’s access to support services and refuges if necessary.
What YWCA does
In our centres we work only with girls and young women which means that they feel safe to talk about relationships and personal matters.
We help girls and young women consider how to identify abusive relationships and to look at mental and financial abuse and controlling behaviour.
Girls in YWCA Cwmafan produced a DVD about the effects of witnessing domestic violence and being in a violent relationship. As part of their citizenship through dance programme they created a performance called Gore E! (leave it) about the impacts of domestic violence on young people.
In many of our centres we run money skills courses and look at issues such as healthy eating, household budgeting and how to access relevant support services. We work with other agencies such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and credit unions.
All of our centres consider girls and young women’s self-esteem and confidence and the effect low confidence has on relationships. We aim to raise their confidence and aspirations.
Linda Pritchard
Welsh Policy Officer
YWCA England and Wales
Tel: 029 2066 2599
Contact Address:
Voluntary Action Cardiff, Shand House, 2 Fitzalan Place, Cardiff CF24 0BE.
